Published Authors

A place for budding and experienced authors to share ideas about publishing and marketing books
 
HomeHome  GalleryGallery  Latest imagesLatest images  RegisterRegister  Log in  Featured MembersFeatured Members  ArticlesArticles  

 

 Who is currently your favorite character?

Go down 
+5
Dick Stodghill
Carol Troestler
alice
joefrank
alj
9 posters
AuthorMessage
alj
Five Star Member
Five Star Member
alj


Number of posts : 9633
Registration date : 2008-12-05
Age : 80
Location : San Antonio

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySat Oct 31, 2009 6:01 am

This topic is close to Joe's, but a little off, so I thought we might explore it here.

I am currently getting to know Ailcy's husband, David Felder Richardson. It took me a while to learn to like him, but I've been rounding him out, and finding him very charming, in an egotistic way.

the facts and family rumors I have to deal with are varied. I know he was six years younger than Ailcy, and that they married when he was 19 and she, 25. He was apparently her first husband. I learned that he had an older brother, James, the same aga as Ailcy, who died in 1846, when he was 21 years old. I have fictionalized, in the absence of any data, that Ailcy was engaged to James, and that he died shortly before they were to be married. That would explain her late marriage date, and point to a reason for her marrying someone so much younger.

The facts that I have on David indicate that he fought on the Confederate side of the CW. (Ailcy's brothers were all in the Union Army.) He was back home by late '63 or early '64, since he married his second wife, Mercy Baker, in March of that year. A few of the records on Ailcy include a stillborn infant boy born in '64 - no exact dates, no name. I'm guessing this is accurate, even though there are no records to prove it. There are no known records of her death. The last named child, Adeline, born in early '62, only lived a few hours. The official record says she died sometime between Adeline's birth and David's remarriage. I have found David's unit, and know that it was involved in a major battle at Helena, Arkansas, and that many of the Confederate soldiers were captured and furloughed. Family rumor says that he was furloughed at about that time. Family rumor also has him as a member of Quantrill's guerrillas. He is not on any official list of known Quantrill men, though. Other family rumors say he rode with J O Shelby, although his official records indicate his unit was led by Sidney Jackman.

There is one place in CW history where all those elements could have combined, and that is the Battle at Lone Jack, Missouri, where Carol's ancestor fought on the Union side. Talk about synchronicity!

David moved what was left of his family to Texas around 1868. The eventually settled along Alabama Creek in Trinity County, where records show that he was a Primitive Baptist Elder (a locally ordained minister). His father had been an elder in the same church in Missouri, and in fact, had started and preached at the first church in Benton County, MO as early as 1833.

The family had come to Missouri from Louisiana, where David's grandfather had several plantations. While there are no records indicating that either David or his father ever owned a slave in Missouri, his father's cousin, Augustus, who came to the same part of Missouri during the 1840's did bring several with them from Louisiana.

So, that is what I must deal with in creating this character. I hyave seen him as being a bit wild and irresponsible as a young man. He moved Ailcy and their oldest children, including my infant gggrandmother, Martha Ann, to a neighboring county, St. Clair, outside Osceola, a town sacked and burned by Jim Lane of the Kansas Jayhawkers in 1861. It is hard to trace which side of the issues these communities favored during that time, so many records were burned at the end of the war, but I found a little history of the three counties where my ancestors lived, Benton, St. Clair, and Henry, and it looks like, from the evidence that the part of St. Clair , especially near Osceola, was strongly bushwacker/Confederate, while Benton County was at least neutral, if not leaning toward the side of the Union. I have a strong feeling that David rode with a group of Bushwackers during the years of the Border Wars, between 1854 and the start of the CW in '61. Martha Ann was born in 1854, the third of David and Ailcy's children. In my head, I have this strong feeling of resentment over his moving his wife and little family into this probably hostile and violent environment, and away from what was clearly a very close-knit family group.

Wow, this is turning into a really long entry. I have been running on a long time here.

I think I will stop now and continue in a different post. I still haven't got to what I started out to write, but I doubt anybody is still reading this one.

Ann
Back to top Go down
http://www.annjoiner.com
joefrank
Five Star Member
Five Star Member
joefrank


Number of posts : 8210
Registration date : 2008-11-04
Age : 75
Location : Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySat Oct 31, 2009 6:09 am

10/31/2009

Ann..

My favorite character is Clara Layten..She's
made up...She's from my first murder mystery book,
" Clara Layten - The Chelsea Murders," I like her because
she's a real character, she lives with her nephew and niece
in law in Chelsea a district of New York City. Her nephew is
a detective with the local precinct. She's always getting into
her nephews police business and causing chaos where ever
she goes, I have six books planned for her....This book should
be out by the end of the year..

Cheers...Joe
Back to top Go down
http://joseph-frank-baraba-artistwebsites.om
alj
Five Star Member
Five Star Member
alj


Number of posts : 9633
Registration date : 2008-12-05
Age : 80
Location : San Antonio

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySat Oct 31, 2009 6:13 am

She sounds interesting, Joe. I'll be looking forward to "meeting" her.

Ann
Back to top Go down
http://www.annjoiner.com
alj
Five Star Member
Five Star Member
alj


Number of posts : 9633
Registration date : 2008-12-05
Age : 80
Location : San Antonio

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySat Oct 31, 2009 6:40 am

So, if all that background info didn't totally turn you off, I see David as being, as I said, an irresponsible, but charming young man. I think Ailcy thought of him as a Peter Pan to her Wendy, in a way. She "mothered" him in many ways, looked after him, stitched him up when he came home wounded from his forays, at least in the beginning. They had almost a child a year until her death, and he kept on having children at the same rate through three other wives. All but the last, who outlived him, died giving him that large family. So, I think that with Ailcy anyway, much of the charm wore off. She continued to give him babies, but was isolated and estranged from the rest of her family. There are persistent rumors that David's mother, Ailcy's mother-in-law, was part or all Cherokee. It fits with the area of northern Georgia where the Richardsons lived before moving to Louisiana. David's father died in 1860, but his mother moved with them to Texas, and lived until the year that Martha Ann and Perry married, 1871. I see her as a consoling figure for Ailcy during those years. The Richardson family in MIssouri is interesting. David was the only one of James and Rachel's twelve children to live past young adulthood. Some of the losses could have been from illnesses, but that many deaths in one family of young men smacks of a violent nature. I've heard stories of gun-toting preachers in the old west. This family might be an example.

I recently ran across a story about David that fits perfectly with my perceptions of him. A distant cousin of mine, another of his descendants, and also a genealogist, found the story in an old slave narrative, and after doing some research realized that the "Mr. Richardson" almost had to have been our common ancestor. It involved a confederate soldier who was driving a wagon on a trip to pick up some supplies, who got lost in unfamiliar territory, and drove into a union camp by mistake. According to the narrative, he turned on his "southern charm" to such a degree that he had the Union officers laughing, and they decided to let him and his wagon and crew go on their way.

Yep, true story or not, that's my David. The only other person I know well who could have pulled that one off is my dear brother, Bill. Maybe that's where he got his charm, and maybe I have someone to use as a guide in developing the character.

Ann
Back to top Go down
http://www.annjoiner.com
alice
Five Star Member
Five Star Member
alice


Number of posts : 15672
Registration date : 2008-10-22
Age : 76
Location : Redmond, WA

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySat Oct 31, 2009 7:09 am

You are so methodical, Ann, I am plain lazy--
that's why my favorite character is myself--all I have to do is put on my thinking cap.
Back to top Go down
http://www.freewebs.com/acrooker/
Carol Troestler
Five Star Member
Five Star Member
Carol Troestler


Number of posts : 3827
Registration date : 2008-06-07
Age : 86
Location : Wisconsin

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySat Oct 31, 2009 9:10 am

Good thoughts Ann. I love piecing those puzzles together. When I was visiting my cousins we really got into the friendship between my mother and my cousin's mother, when my cousin's mother was pregnant before she was married. How did they meet? What a friendship that my aunt even mentioned the times of their youth with gratitude to my mother 70 years later!

We put together these pieces and sometimes I think we then know more than the person knew about themselves.

My favorite Character was my ggg-grandmother, Elizabeth Boothman Farrar, whoe second husband was 13 years younger than she was. The fact this large family all survived the Civil War made me think she did a good job of keeping people together, utilizing scarce resources. Also during the war, no one got married or had children. This woman's grave is by itself, marked by a tall obelisk. I see this as a tribute to her independence while part of a large family. That I can relate to.

After her husband died, he married a woman 20 years younger.

Last weekend we talked about how sociologists and historians will have a field day with our present day families, blended from many different areas. But perhaps it was always thus.

Keep writing Ann. I intend to.

Carol
Back to top Go down
http://www.authorsden.com/ctroestler
Dick Stodghill
Five Star Member
Five Star Member
Dick Stodghill


Number of posts : 3795
Registration date : 2008-05-04
Age : 98
Location : Akron, Ohio

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySat Oct 31, 2009 1:58 pm

I'll try to comment more tomorrow, Ann. Richardson does indeed sound like a fascinating character. Were it not for the age difference I would swear our paths had crossed along the way.
He reminds me in many ways of my great-grandfather Peter Lynch, who left County Cavan in Ireland for this country in 1853 at the age of 18. He was told repeatedly to look up his cousin Phil as soon as he arrived. He tried, but found that Phil Sheridan had graduated from West Point a couple of months before his arrival and was stationed in Texas. Peter had no intention of traveling that far to see a cousin he had never met. This was probably a wise move because Cousin Phil, from all reports, was not a cordial man. Thanks to the Civil War he quickly rose in rank while Peter paid a man $20 to take his place when drafted. He could not understand why anyone would fight a war in which England was not the enemy.
Back to top Go down
http://www.dickstodghill.com
Betty Fasig
Five Star Member
Five Star Member
Betty Fasig


Number of posts : 4334
Registration date : 2008-06-12
Age : 81
Location : Duette, Florida

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySat Oct 31, 2009 4:25 pm

Old Agnes is and has always been my favorite character that I write about. I am sure every one thinks it is Wooffer. I do love Wooffer so. But, Old Agnes is so very fierce. She has a fierce love for her many children. She develops a fierce love for Wooffer, too. Brave she is, and daring. There is no nonsense about Old Agnes. She has a grip on reality that only a mother of thousands could have. I love her.

Love,
Betty
Back to top Go down
http://woofferwood.webs.com/
dkchristi
Five Star Member
Five Star Member
dkchristi


Number of posts : 8594
Registration date : 2008-12-29
Location : Florida

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySat Oct 31, 2009 4:39 pm

At the moment, Neev in Ghost Orchid is my favorite character. I did not realize it at the time, but as more and more people (at the book signing this morning as an example) ask me if the girl on the cover is me, I realize that Neev is the daughter that might have been born to me. Instead, I raised three sons, always yearning for a daughter, at least a daughter-in-law. So far, I had one briefly and a potential that I adored but who didn't work out. Thus, I unwittingly poured my daughter yearning into Neev which I have just started to realize as I am interviewed about the book and people make comments about the cover.

Neev is strong-willed, fiercely independent and shut off to love. However, she is very bright and sensitive to the world and the beauty therein. She directs her passion to the natural world, but she retains the capacity to love smouldering beneath the surface. She is impatient and hot-tempered. She is a natural beauty, actually unaware that she is exceptional.
Back to top Go down
http://www.dkchristi.webs.com
Shelagh
Admin
Admin
Shelagh


Number of posts : 12662
Registration date : 2008-01-11
Location : UK

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySun Nov 01, 2009 9:35 am

Dick will love this! My favourite character by far is Cosmos. He is reliable, honest, loyal, wise, intelligent and good humoured. He always knows the right thing to do, he's always around if needed and he never outstays his welcome.

Why will Dick love this? Isn't it obvious? Cosmos is a cat. Who is currently your favorite character? X-kristi1
Back to top Go down
http://shelaghwatkins.co.uk
Phil Whitley
Four Star Member
Four Star Member
Phil Whitley


Number of posts : 907
Registration date : 2008-04-01
Age : 81
Location : Riverdale, GA

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySun Nov 01, 2009 10:23 am

I am really enjoying reading about all of your favorite
characters. I'm getting the impression that they are not always
the leading ones in the stories, but rather introduced in a supporting
role. It is these kinds of things that make a story come to life.
Back to top Go down
http://www.philwhitley.com
Dick Stodghill
Five Star Member
Five Star Member
Dick Stodghill


Number of posts : 3795
Registration date : 2008-05-04
Age : 98
Location : Akron, Ohio

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySun Nov 01, 2009 10:44 am

Gee, Shelagh, I thought you were going to say Cosmos was me. Tell that cat to take a hike.
Back to top Go down
http://www.dickstodghill.com
alice
Five Star Member
Five Star Member
alice


Number of posts : 15672
Registration date : 2008-10-22
Age : 76
Location : Redmond, WA

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySun Nov 01, 2009 10:49 am

Cats are outlawed here. Dick does not like them.

Hamsters rule.
Back to top Go down
http://www.freewebs.com/acrooker/
Shelagh
Admin
Admin
Shelagh


Number of posts : 12662
Registration date : 2008-01-11
Location : UK

Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? EmptySun Nov 01, 2009 11:12 am

Dick Stodghill wrote:
Gee, Shelagh, I thought you were going to say Cosmos was me. Tell that cat to take a hike.
LOL! Dick, I think you know who Cosmos is!

Alice, If a hamster turns up in one of my books, Dick will know who that is too!
Back to top Go down
http://shelaghwatkins.co.uk
Sponsored content





Who is currently your favorite character? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Who is currently your favorite character?   Who is currently your favorite character? Empty

Back to top Go down
 
Who is currently your favorite character?
Back to top 
Page 1 of 1
 Similar topics
-
» Do You Think People Lack Character Now?
» character development...
» A Study in Character
» Creating Character Quirks
» A quandry: to bump off a character or not

Permissions in this forum:You cannot reply to topics in this forum
Published Authors :: General :: Chatter Box-
Jump to: